Month: May 2019

Most of us baby boomers and those younger remember the famous kid’s game “Operation.”  I’m not sure you’d call it a ‘board game’ per se, but there was a platform or small frame set-up and of course the wired in tweezers used to pluck body parts out of the male patient.

The body parts were little plastic pieces such as a ‘wrenched ankle’, ‘funny bone’, ‘broken heart’, and don’t forget the ‘spare ribs’ to name a few.  The object was to use those wired tweezers to excise those body parts without bumping against the metal sides and hearing the buzz sound.  The patient being operated on would also light up his red nose on these metal hits.

So as we get older and older (hey, It beats the alternative) I was thinking that Hasbro, the folks who make this game, should come up with a new version of ‘Operation’ that is aimed at those in middle to old age. This new edition would exchange the ‘butterfly in stomach’, ‘wish bone’ and other body parts with maladies we of an aging generation face.

Some of the parts to be removed on the “Advanced Age Operation” game could be as follows:

Cataracts, gall bladder, appendix, there could be a heart bypass or you could be directed to install a stent or pacemaker for an ailing ticker.

The new Operation game could also feature mole removal, gastric bypass for the severely obese and switch out leg hinges with knee replacements.

Actually there could be two versions of the game based on gender.

The male patient could have a prostate removal piece, maybe even a penile implant spot and let’s not leave out a hair transplant. 

The female patient could undergo a boob job or removal of the uterus due to having a hysterectomy.  

I’m just spit-balling here but there are ways to add fun and update a classic old game like “Operation.”

WHILE WE’RE AT IT–

There are other old school board games that could be updated to modern times as well.  I’m guessing the girls’ board game ‘Mystery Date’ could include possible same sex hook-ups or some more metro-sexual male suitors. Since women can serve in the military game Stratego could include some female game pieces. The crime detecting game ‘Clue’ could have a portion that includes DNA evidence.   

I’m sure there are other old school board games that could be updated to fit into modern times. However changes come along slowly and there’s no need to take on more than I’ve already suggested.  Hasbro and any other game makers out there, the ball is now in your court.

WEIRD BUT TRUE-

Here’s a newer game that related to the gross-out Reality TV show “Dr. Pimple Popper” (and this one is real folks) It’s the “Pimple Pete” game. 

Dr. Pimple Popper’s Pimple Popping Game is Disgustingly Satisfying

NEXT WEEK’S BLOG : Some great dates in music history.

Being born in 1961 and having a rock music loving sister four years my senior, I grew up listening and loving the holy trinity of ‘British Invasion’ music; The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who.  By age fourteen, The Who was easily my favorite of the three.  I even solo sang “Pinball Wizard” at an eighth grade chorus’ concert.  Add to this, in the summer of 1975, I saw the rock opera movie “Tommy” three times.

My close high school friends were Who nuts too.  Albums like “Tommy”, “Who’s Next” and “Quadrophenia” were constantly on our turntables.  My senior year in high school started off great as we enjoyed the just released “Who Are You” album. However, three weeks later the world of Who fans crashed with the accidental drug overdose death of drummer Keith Moon at the age of thirty two.  Despite Moon the Loon’s passing, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle planned to soldier on and tour with former Small Faces drummer Kenny Jones.

Fast forward to the fall of 1979 when I was a freshman in college and The Who announced a U.S. concert tour.  For the Chicago date there was no camping out all night for tickets as fans had to send in money orders and hope to be one of those who scored seats.  Those not selected in the lottery got their money orders sent back.  My friend Frank Bombino and I sent in for a pair of tickets and landed seats on the lower level of the Amphitheatre, about twelve rows to the side of the stage.  I was pumped.  Earlier that summer, I saw “The Kids Are Alright” movie which showed lots of Who concert footage dating from the early 60’s into 1978 but now I was going to see the band live.  I could not wait for Saturday December 8^th!!!

Besides the mail-in lottery for tickets, this Chicago Who concert had an extra twist.  After the show easily sold out, plans were put in place for a closed circuit simulcast of the whole show in selected movie theatres in Chicago and the outlying suburbs.  At this time, the only events put on closed circuit like this were heavyweight boxing matches, Evel Knievel’s Snake River Canyon jump and in the early 70’s some Chicago Blackhawk play-off games.  My dad took me to a few of those hockey game closed circuit casts.  This was pretty much ‘pay per view’ before pay per view became a home TV operation.  Once The Who’s concert-cast from the Amphitheatre was over, those who went to theatres were also shown the movie “Tommy.”  Several of my friends got tickets for the theatres so they could catch The Who live, albeit on a big screen.

Five days before the Chicago concert, the tragedy in Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum made national news. Eleven fans died and twenty eight others were injured in what amounted to a stampede of people rushing to get into the arena. Cincinnati’s show featured festival seating or a ‘first come, first serve’ situation and when not enough doors were opened to accommodate the crowd, tragic consequences took place.  Concern for the same thing happening in Chicago was alleviated by the fact that every one of the twelve thousand or so seats was reserved.  Still, on the night of the show officials made sure every possible gate and door for entry was opened to prevent any crowd problems. 

That night Frank and I took our seats in the mezzanine level which had a perfect side view of the stage maybe forty feet from the band.  We could also see part of the backstage area where a large video screen was set up to show folks hanging there what was being broadcast to the movie theatres.  This was a major event and years later I read it was one of Who manager  Bill Curbishly’s proudest moments.  A chance to play one show but get it out to more than just the twelve thousand fans in the arena was a major happening. WLUP FM 97.9, “The Loop” was the rock station presenting this show and well known air personality Mitch Michaels was the emcee for the night. By the way Mitch’s auto biography “Doin the Cruise”                      shares cool inside details on how this simulcast was pitched to the band and promoted by The Loop.

There was no opening act (no need for these guys) and as the house lights went dark thousands of fans screamed “Whoo!” Whooo””   From our vantage point, Frank and I could see the foursome make their way to the stage stairs before most others did and they got in position to kick the night off.  Roger Daltrey stood in his spot at center stage, leaned his torso back and waited for Pete Townshend to open with the chords to “Substitute” and the concert was up and running.  Daltrey swung his microphone cord hard and fast as they segued into “Can’t Explain” and as that song ended he introduced the next one by yelling “Out here in the fields!” With that they launched into an angry stomp of “Baba O’Riley.”  Name me any band that can match those three songs to start a show.  And good luck with that.

For the first time on a tour, The Who featured a keyboard player, John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick and playing on “Baba” was when we first heard and saw him. Townshend started up his trademark windmill swipes at his Fender telecaster and the place went bananas.  Entwistle’s bass thundered and Kenny Jones slammed away at his drums.  A couple of songs later Pete introduced a three piece brass section (saxophone, trombone and trumpet) which enabled the group to play songs from “Quadrophenia” like “5:15” along with an intense version of “Music Must Change” from “Who Are You.”  We also heard classics like “Behind Blue Eyes”,  “My Generation”, “I Can See for Miles” and “Long Live Rock.”  Bassist John “The Ox” Entwistle announced instead of playing his song “Boris the Spider” they were going to do “My Wife” which thanks to an extended jam, was a huge hit with the fans.  

During short breaks between songs, Who members took time to say hi to the fans watching the show in the movie theatres.  Daltrey, Townsend and Entwistle would give a shout out to a couple of locales each but they did a good job of focusing on the crowd in the Amphitheatre while camera operators kept positioning themselves to get the best shots of the band in action.  At one point I saw Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen standing behind a stack of amps and handing Townshend guitars between songs.  Pete did a little in between song clowning acting as if the closed circuit was broadcast to the world and saying hi to family and friends back in England, including an uncle who was “having his balls operated on.”  

“Won’t get Fooled Again” closed the band’s set which included a large flashpot stage explosion as Daltrey belted out his last scream of that classic. “Won’t Get Fooled Again” live is one of those chaotic blow-outs with all players going full bore crazy.  The foursome came out for an extended encore with highlights being the brass backed “The Real Me” and a cover of Martha and the Vandellas “Dancing in the Street”.  Then Townshend led a medley of snippets that included “Dance it Away”, “Young Man Blues”, “I’m a Man” and a yet to be released “How Can You Do It Alone.”  The Who rocked out a total of twenty eight songs and as the four members stood together at the front of the stage for a final bow, Roger Daltrey announced, “We had a great time tonight, we REALLY did!”  I’m sure he often says this to but the guys sure looked like they were having a blast doing this show.  I’ve seen The Who many times since but this virgin experience remains my favorite. 

The good news is because of the simulcast into movie theatres, tech workers were smart enough to tap into that video feed and record the entire concert. The photos from this blog are still shots from that simulcast.  The 12-8-79 show is one of the easiest to find video ‘bootlegs’ and most of the concert can be watched on You Tube.  Fans of The Who will love seeing the band looking so young and vibrant as they played these classic songs with such passion.  And while it’s great to watch on video, for lucky fans like me, there was nothing like seeing it in person.  Long live rock!  

NEXT WEEK’S BLOG- New ideas for an old game.

Once a year my favorite weekly show CBS Sunday Morning does their “Food Issue.”  It’s 90 minutes dedicated to all facets of eating such as unusual meals, off beat restaurants and anything else tied to the culinary arts.  I don’t have 90 minutes worth of food items to offer but here are just a few comments regarding the fine art of eating.

HAPPY HOUR–

With the warm weather here, there are only 3 different alcoholic drinks on my wish list come cocktail time.  All I require is a bottle of either Rolling Rock or Shiner Bock beer.  And if I want a mixed drink, vodka and lemonade will do nicely.  Which brand of vodka do I want?  It doesn’t matter to me. Despite having a pretty sharp palate I cannot distinguish between Grey Goose, Tito’s, Absolut, Ketel One, Smirnoff or any of the other popular brands.  (However, with colas, I can easily pick out the differences between Coke, Pepsi and Royal Crown)

FOR THE HEALTH OF IT

Everyone loves Portillo’s hot dogs, burgers and Italian beef but as much as I enjoy those offerings, I’m also a major fan of their chopped salad.  About twelve years ago my mother got me to try that dish, inviting me to sample some of her portion.  It’s a basic mix of fine ground lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pasta, chicken, bacon and spices.  I honestly think I could live on that meal.  A full serving with dressing included is only 800 calories and it takes me two meals to finish the chopped salad.  Before Jared Fogle got busted for being a lecherous child sexual predator he became famous for losing lots weight by eating meals at Subway.  Maybe Portillo’s can hook me up with daily servings of their chopped salad so I can knock off tons of pounds, then I can do ads for them.  And I promise there will be no sex scandals coming from me!

WE HAVE A WINNING WIENER!

On the subject of hotdogs, everyone has their personal favorites and you can find dozens of ‘Best Chicago Hot dogs’ lists online.  I’ve eaten at many of the standard ‘bests’ like Superdawg, Gene & Jude’s, Johnny’s, Wolfy’s and Byron’s.  Still, above all of them, including Portillo’s, my all time ‘go to’ place for hot dogs is the Wiener Circle on North Clark Street in Chicago.  There’s often lots of folks buzz about how rude yet funny the serving staff there can be to their customers. Still, the only fat I want to chew at Wiener’s Circle is their char cheddar hot dogs.  For over 30 years this place has been number one for me and I don’t see that ever changing.

GETTING SALTY

While I don’t want to get into a ‘greatest pizza debate’ right now, there is one habit I fell out of that merits a return try.  Growing up and dining on pizza, I used to shake salt lightly over the top of my portion of the pie. Salt on pizza works especially well when the sauce is extra sweet.  Aurelio’s is an aces place to find that sweet tomato sauce.  On a side note, when it comes to Italian food, I will never, ever refer to any sauce as ‘gravy.’  I think that’s an old school thing from the old country but I’m not from the old country. 

WHO’S HUNGRY?

When it comes to various chain restaurants, I cannot understand why nobody has paid for the use of the old Paul Revere and the Raiders pop song “Hungry.”  The chorus to that peppy romp easily fits into the food and fun theme that many chain restaurants claim to have happening at their establishments. 

Just check out this chorus-

“Because I’m hungry for those good things baby, I’m hungry through and through, I’m hungry for that sweet life baby with a real fine girl like you! I can almost taste it…”  Come on, you use that part of the song with a montage of people eating, talking and laughing in so and so eatery and you’ll have hungry eaters busting down the doors!   

SWEET TALK-

Once you’ve eaten double stuff Oreos, you will NEVER go back to regular Oreo cookies again.  You’re spoiled to the gooey richness of the double cream filling.  It’s kind of like having high speed cable internet and then knowing you’ll never revert to dial up service again. And who does Nabisco think they’re fooling with the offering of Oreo Thins?  Please, if you’re gonna eat an Oreo, eat a REAL Oreo. Double stuff for me.

Last year I cautioned people about how addicting caramel filled M&Ms peanut candy is.  This year the new caramel filled Dove Promises candy is the one to be wary of.  I can sum these bite sized treats up in two words: Chewy Heroin.

ONE LAST DISH-

I’m a full grown semi-mature man.  So why is it any time I eat cereal, oatmeal, soup or chili I only use a tea spoon?  I have never used a tablespoon to eat and don’t ever plan to.  Is that just me or what?

O.K., the bar, the kitchen and the restaurant are now closed. And don’t forget to tip your servers.

NEXT WEEK’S BLOG- Remembering my ever first Who concert.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday.  Like most of you I was blessed to have a truly wonderful mom.  However, there might be a few mothers out there who fall short of being a good parent to their offspring.  With that, I bring you my short checklist on what constitutes a mom who lacks in proper parenting skills. In other words,You MIGHT be a lousy mother if:

Your son’s arrest on “Cops” proudly makes the family Christmas letter.

Your kids think Cherry Coke & Lemonheads are fruit servings.

 A criminal background check prevents you from being a school field trip chaperone.

At your 10 year old’s birthday party you referee a game of Beer Pong.

You flash your breasts at a Wiggles concert.

The first pendant on your daughter’s charm bracelet is a marijuana leaf.

 The person your kid admires most essay is about Kim Kardashian.

Your daughter is regularly featured on “Girls Gone Wild” videos.

The regular tip for the pizza delivery guy is your son’s Ritalin pills.

At a PTA meeting you make a motion to have an open bar.

You hand out condoms to Trick or Treaters.

As a Cub Scout den mother your craft project is turning an empty soda can into a bong.

 Your teenagers haven’t seen a dentist since their baby teeth fell out.

At the high school talent show your daughter’s act involves a brass pole.

You smuggle weed through airport security in your baby’s diaper.

 Your puppy is housebroken before your 10 year old is.

It takes the Maury Povich Show to determine the paternity of your children.

The entertainment at your daughter’s Sweet 16 party is a retired porn star.

 Your contribution to a church bake sale is hash brownies.

You need your baby’s urine to pass a drug screen.

You help complete your daughter’s prom outfit with crotchless panties.

 Your after soccer game team snack is a case of Red Bull and a pack of Marlboro Lights.

 You lend your kid a vibrator to take to ‘Show and Tell.”

The contribution you make to a school silent auction is a free bikini waxing.

Your son’s Spring Break trip is to the Moonlite Bunny Ranch.

The best benefit of your kid getting his driver’s license is you now have a ‘Designated Driver.’S

So no matter if you’re a lousy mom or not, I want to wish all the mamas a happy Mother’s Day and many more to come!

NEXT WEEK: The Food Issue.